Life raft



H. E. HODGSON LIFE RAFT Filed May 9, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 16, 1924.

HARRIETTE n; noneso n, or NEW YORK, 1 I.,Y.

LIFE

Application filed May 9,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l HARRIET-rm E. Hons- SON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Life Raft, of which thefol- The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawin s is a raft or floating island of substantial size capable of supporting a considerable number of persons, together with equipment and supplies. The island can, however, be made in all sizes, depending upon the space available or the character of the emergency in which it may have to serve. Life-buoys embodying part or all of the features of the invention may be thrown into the water in case of a man being washed or falling overboard from a ship, dock or pier, while the larger forms will be especially useful in event of shipwreck, fire at sea, or other nautical disasters.

Proceeding now to a description of the form selected for illustration, it will be seen that it comprises an island body 2 of substantial construction, having considerable thickness relative to its surface. This body is made of light material or buoyant elements fashioned in suitable manner to form a firm and highly buoyant floating platform.

Radiating from the body and connected or united integrally therewith are numerous arms 3, or extensions of the body, which they resemble in construction and capability for support. These arms preferably taper outwardly as shown; and at their ends may be rectangular plat-form enlargements 4:. Around the body and also preferably along the sides of the arms there is a raised curbing 5, and eyes 6 are provided for securing persons or articles upon the island or its arms in case of heavy seas.

The arms form extensions of the supportg area, 1 19911 wh ch, in the l rg a per:

RAFT.

1923. Serial No. 637,632.

sons can be accommodated, and in the smaller as well as the larger sizes by reachingout in all directions into the sea afford the maximum opportunity for a person or persons in the water to reach safety.

Inaddition, the rescue r'ange'of the device is greatly enlarged by appendages adapted to spread tentacle-fashion on all sides, beyond the arms. As herein illustrated these appendages take the form of ropes or cords 7 attached to the ends of the arms, to form long loops bearing floats 8. A person in the water anywhere within or near; the extreme radius of the device can almost certainly grasp one of these numerous leads, and by working along it gain one of the arms and eventually the center of the island.

To aid persons to climb onto the raft, which rises at some height from the water,

other rope appendages or loops 9 are secured to the ends of the arms, at the inner corners Where they join the body, or at other points, and are provided with sinkers 10, so

that'they depend in the Water to serve as stirrups.

Still other ropes 11 arranged in scalloploops are shown attached to the side edges of the arms and around the edges of their platform enlargements 4. These elements furnish handholds, to which a large number of persons in the water can cling until rescued by boats, should the surface of the raftv be full. The handholds should be disposed at both the upper and the lower edges, as

shown, so that one set will be available whichever side of the raft is above when the raft is cast or launched upon the water. I

Set securely into recesses in the arms are large boxes 12, capable of holding a quantity of articles and appliances, such as rubber coats, blankets, sails, oars, etc. These boxes have lids 13 at both sides, top and bottom, so that access may be had-to the boxes whether the raft floats on one side or the other, and the lids are secured when closed by fastenings 14, and rendered tight by suitable packings or gaskets not necessary to illustrate. The hasp hooks, screw threaded and carrying locking nuts 15, of my application filed July 24:, 1920, Serial No. 398,699 may be used with great advantage for the fastenings' Other, smaller boxes 16 are disposed in a circle in the island body, which may be com- Po e of n er and enter p t n s p ra ed.

by an annular space and united by strong rods or cables 17 passing between the boxes, though obviously the two parts of the body need not be separate, since the boxes could be fewer in number and set in like the boxes 12. In the construction shown, they are connected together and fastened to the parts of the island by cables 18 connected to eyes in the vertical sides of the boxes. The boxes are preferably of less depth than the thickness of the island body, and may be covered at both sides by removable pads or cushions 19. The small boxes likewise have lids at both sides, rendered water-tight when closed by the fastenings, and are designed particularly to hold food, water, matches, utensils and other small articles.

The floats 8, which may be corks, pieces of wood, bamboo, or air-tight chambers, are to be painted white or otherwise brilliantly colored or rendered noticeable, which may also be true of the entire island or portions of it, so that either in the day, or at night under searchlight, it will be impossible for a swimmer to fail to see the island and its system of spreading tentacles.

A rope by which the raft or buoy may be towed, anchored or connected with a ship or with the shore, depending upon the form and application of the device, is indicated at 20.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be understood that various changes may be made without departing from essentials.

What I claim as new is:

1. A life-buoy or raft, comprising a firm buoyant island body, with integral radiating arms of like capability for support with the body, substantially as described.

2. A life-buoy or raft, comprising a firm 1 buoyant island body, with integral radiating arms of like capability for support with the body, and flexible appendages adapted to float outward beyond the arms, substantially as described.

3. A life-buoy or raft, comprising a firm buoyant island body, with integral radiating arms of like capability for support with the body, and flexible appendages adapted to float outward beyond the arms, together with other attachments along and between the edges of the arms to which those in the water may cling and to facilitate clambering upon the raft, substantially as described.

4. A life-buoy or raft, comprising a firm buoyant body, with integral radiating arms of like capability for support with the body, and boxes in said arms, substantially as described.

5. A life-buoy or raft, comprising a substantially-built buoyant body, with radiating arms of like capability for support with the body, the body comprising inner and outer connected portions, with a ring of boxes in the space or spaces between the portions, substantially as described.

6. A life-buoy or raft comprising a buoyant island body having integral radiating arms of like capability of support with the body, with stirrups on the edges having sinkers causing them to depend in the water.

HARRIETTE E. HODGSON. 

